APRIL: Riau, Sumatra's Biggest Forest Pulper 2009 to 2012

Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL): Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012

questionable legality, social conflicts and global warming

Investigative Report Eyes on the Forest

Published in December 2012

Eyes on the Forest (EoF) is a coalition of environmental NGOs in Riau, Sumatra: Friends of the Earth “Walhi” Riau Office, Jikalahari "Riau Forest Rescue Network" and WWF-Indonesia, Riau Program. EoF monitors the status of the remaining natural forests in Sumatra's Province of Riau and disseminates the information worldwide. More news on Eyes on the Forest, go to: http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id Email: editor(at)eyesontheforest.or.id

Front cover

Photo on top: Stacks of mixed tropical hardwood (MTH) after large-scale clearance of natural forest by PT. Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP), a wood supplying subsidiary of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL). Photo taken on Kampar Peninsula in Riau, Sumatra by Eyes on the Forest at N0°20'18.29" E102°46'5.88" on 21 February 2012.

Photo on bottom left: Natural forest clearance by APRIL wood supplier PT. Triomas FDI in Kampar Peninsula. Photo taken by Eyes on the Forest on 30 May 2012.

Photo on bottom right: Peat drainage canal and stacks of MTH harvested from forest clearance by APRIL wood supplier PT. RAPP in Kampar peninsula. Some CITES-protected ramin trees were “saved” and left standing. Photo taken by Eyes on the Forest at N°17’52.36” E102°43’22.29” on 10 February 2012.

Summary

• Despite being in business for 17 years and having access to pulpwood supply concessions covering more than 10% of Riau province’s landmass (940,000 hectares), APRIL has continued to rely on clearance of natural forest for its pulping business as late as this year, 2012.

• APRIL’s public commitment to sustainable and natural fiber free operations after 2009 was pure sales talk; greenwashing to win back customers who had left the company due to its dismal sustainability record. Any statements on environmental sustainability made by APRIL today must be viewed with the highest possible skepticism and should not be taken at face value.

• At least 140,000 hectares of natural forest were lost in all APRIL supplier concessions between 2008/2009 and 2011 in Riau; equivalent to the loss of 5% of the natural forest remaining in 2008/2009 and 27% of the total forest lost between 2008/9 and 2011.

• APRIL knowingly pulped natural forest wood from concessions whose licenses were issued through corrupt practices. Ten of twelve APRIL wood suppliers operating in the company’s main wood supply area, Riau Province’s deep peat Kampar Peninsula, obtained their licenses from the heads of Siak and Pelalawan district. Both were convicted in high profile cases for corrupt practices in issuing these licenses and are currently in prison. APRIL suppliers also received annual cutting licenses from three Riau Forestry Agency chiefs who since then have been sentenced to prison terms for graft by the corruption court.

• APRIL wood suppliers are believed to have cleared natural forests inside “National Protection Areas” in violation of Government Regulation 26/2008. Indonesian TEMPO magazine reported that the Indonesian Ministry of Environment plans a civil law suit against – among others - six APRIL wood suppliers for allegedly causing environmental destruction. Indonesia’s Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force estimated that the 14 companies to be named in the law suit caused a more than 2,067 trillion rupiah (US$217 billion) loss to the state.

• APRIL lost its interim “FSC Controlled Wood” certificate for non compliance in 2010 after an audit by the Rainforest Alliance. APRIL supplier PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL) was refused Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) certification in May 2011 by auditor PT. Sarbi International Certification and only received partial certification for selected concession blocks after it filed for reassessment excluding the two blocks that failed to pass the legality verification.

• The clearance of deep peat swamp forests in Riau’s Kampar Peninsula and islands of Riau’s coast has generated long-lasting, wide-spread, and widely covered social conflicts between local ccommunities and APRIL wood suppliers, including corporate flagship PT. RAPP (Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper) and PT. SRL. The issues focus on loss of control over traditionally owned forests and land and degradation of natural resources. A desperate protest by residents of Pulau Padang who sewed their mouths shut in January 2012 stopped PT. RAPP from operating their concession there.

• APRIL’s corporate wood supply strategy appears based on production on peat soil where 69% of its concession areas are located. APRIL’s acceleration of peat soil drainage and peat forest pulping likely led to a steep, long-lasting increase of GHG emissions from the landscape and thus appears like a slap in the face of the President of Indonesia’s global commitment to dramatic emissions reductions.

1 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

• Since 2005, APRIL has been promising its buyers, investors and the general public that the company will protect High Conservation Value Forests. Most of the natural forest cleared by APRIL’s wood suppliers since 2009 would likely be considered High Conservation Value Forest. These forests are potential habitat of critically endangered Sumatran tigers and Sumatran elephants and are critically endangered and endangered “eco-floristic sectors”.

• APRIL appears to consider the conversion of large stretches of tropical forests as an essential business practice: “This relates to direct or indirect involvement in the significant conversion of forests to plantations, which is an essential step for APRIL Indonesia in our process of establishing renewable plantation fibre supplies ...” In fact, 2009, the year in which APRIL had committed to become MTH-free, appears to have been the beginning of an all-out assault on Sumatra’s most precious peat forests and with it the global climate. What remains are the same old statements left for display on the corporate web page and the archives of the Internet, continuing to try and greenwash APRIL’s operations.

• Eyes on the Forest calls on APRIL/RGE to stop destroying peat and pulping natural forest fibre and not expand its pulp production capacity until a sustainable wood supply has been verified by an independent third party.

• Eyes on the Forest recommends that APRIL buyers and other business partners avoid being associated with the tropical forest and peat destruction of APRIL and its associated business entities and not let themselves be trapped by the company’s greenwashing campaigns.

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Introduction: Business as usual deforestation and peat destruction by APRIL

APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Limited1) of the Royal Golden Eagle 2 group is a Singaporean company with pulp and paper mills in Indonesia and China. In 2011, APRIL considered its Riau, Sumatra mill “the biggest mill on the planet” with a production of “3.5 million tons of pulp and paper”3. APRIL started commercial pulp production in 1995. It focuses on selling pulp globally but also started paper production in 1998 4. Its flagship line is “PaperOne” brand office paper 5. UPM-Kymmene 6, 7 and Fuji Xerox 8, 9 had been some of the company’s most prominent customers before they cancelled their contracts as reports on APRIL’s indiscriminate destruction of tropical rainforest became public 10 .

In 2004, APRIL advertised globally that it would be free of natural forest wood by 2009: “By the year 2009 we will have sufficient Acacia from our own and our partners’ fiber plantations to produce 2 million tons of pulp which is the production capacity of our mill.” 11

Yet, despite the public commitment, Eyes on the Forest 12, 13 had to report in 2010 that APRIL’s wood suppliers had applied for and had received new “annual cutting licenses (RKT)” in 2009 and 2010. They allowed APRIL’s suppliers to: • Clear 74,099 and 71,125 hectares of natural tropical forest, respectively. These numbers show the magnitude of APRIL’s deforestation operations. Each year’s licenses allowed the company to pulp an area of tropical forest larger than the whole country of Singapore, the headquarter of APRIL’s operations. • Clear tropical forest with an average official timber yield of 118 and 90 m 3/ha, respectively. Such yields prove that APRIL did not clear marginal or degraded lands but good natural forests with a powerful potential to sequester carbon, if protected and given the chance to fill out. • Harvest 8.5 and 6.3 million m 3 of mixed tropical hardwood (MTH), respectively. These volumes show the absolute dependence of APRIL’s operations on deforestation until today. They represented 84% and 50% of the raw material needs of APRIL’s Riau mill, assuming the mill still produced two million tons of pulp per year at the time.

2010 was also the year when the Rainforest Alliance cancelled APRIL’s interim “FSC Controlled Wood” certificate for non compliance and when APRIL chose not to reinstate the process and instead continued to drain peat lands and clear potential HCVF without proper assessment in place 14, 15, 16 .

Despite being in business for 17 years and having access to pulpwood supply concessions covering more than 10% of Riau province’s landmass (940,000 hectares), APRIL continues to rely on clearance of natural forest for its pulping business. The Indonesian Working Group on Forest Finance reported that APRIL and their competitor Asia Pulp & Paper pulped more natural forest wood than plantation grown fibre in Riau province as late as 2011 17 . This means APRIL’s public commitment to sustainable and natural fiber free operations after 2009 was pure sales talk; greenwashing to win back customers who had left the company due to its dismal sustainability record and customers who have been avoiding Indonesian paper products in general for the same reason. Any statements on environmental sustainability made by APRIL today must thus be viewed with the highest possible skepticism and should not be taken at face value 18 .

3 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

Eyes on the Forest Investigation of APRIL operations

Amid continuing reports of social conflicts and deforestation of deep peat areas considered off limits within the country’s national land use planning law, Eyes on the Forest decided to update on the status of APRIL operations in Riau since 2009. Eyes on the Forest analyzed 2009 and 2010 annual cutting license information, the results of field investigations, and forest cover information based on satellite images taken between 2009 and November 2012 (Map 1).

Based on analysis of satellite images, at least 140,000 hectares of natural forest were lost in all APRIL supplier concessions between 2008/2009 (based on a mosaic of Landsat images acquired in 2008 and 2009) and 2011 in Riau (Map 1). This figure is close to the total area of natural forest “annual cutting licenses (RKT)” issued in 2009 and 2010 allowed to be cleared. In Riau alone, APRIL suppliers caused the loss of 5% of the natural forest remaining in 2008/2009 and 27% of the total forest lost between 2008/9 and 2011.

Map 1. APRIL wood suppliers’ concessions and loss of natural forest between 2008/2009 and 2011 in Riau Province, Sumatra. Concessions with red boundaries and (*) continued to clear natural forest after 2009 based on annual cutting licenses (RKT) and Landsat image analysis. The depth of the peat in areas deforested during the study period is indicated in colour (see Chapter 4).

Eyes on the Forest found the same basic sustainability issues repeated in many of forest clearance areas and thus organized this report accordingly: 1. Forest clearance in areas with legally questionable concession licenses, including those obtained from officials convicted for or on trial for graft. 2. Forest clearance in violation of government spatial planning law and within Indonesia’s “deforestation moratorium area”.

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3. Forest clearance causing persisting social conflicts. 4. Business model based on generating GHG emissions from continuing peat drainage. 5. Destruction of High Conservation Value Forests.

Most of the cases were identified in the operations of APRIL’s two biggest suppliers, the long established corporate flagship PT. Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP) and the relatively new PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL), supposedly held by APRIL founder and chairman Sukanto Tanoto 19 , 20 . Together, the two companies were allowed to harvest 54% and 85%, respectively of the total MTH (Mixed Tropical Hardwood) APRIL was allowed to source by the 2009 and 2010 annual cutting licenses.

1. Forest clearance in areas with legally questionable concession licenses, including those obtained from officials convicted for or on trial for graft

The 700,000 ha Kampar Peninsula in north-eastern Riau (Map 1) has one of the largest concentration of forest and peat carbon on earth and its protection is crucial for Indonesia to meet its publicly committed GHG emissions reduction goal 21, 22 . Kampar is considered a key conservation site by many NGOs and the Indonesian Government 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 .

Despite its important values, APRIL chose Kampar as its main wood supply area due to the proximity to its mega pulp mill of PT. RAPP, also known as “Riaupulp” (Map 1). Over the years, APRIL subsidiary PT. RAPP and eleven affiliated wood suppliers applied for licenses for concessions in more than a third of Kampar that were almost completely covered with dense tropical forest, eventually obtained the licenses (Map 2), and then cleared the forests to supply MTH to APRIL’s Riaupulp mill. To transport the logs to its mill and its pulp to the harbor, APRIL also built an ecologically devastating logging road that split Kampar peninsula’s peat 30 ecosystem in half .

Map 2. APRIL suppliers’ concessions in Kampar Peninsula. Concessions of APRIL’s subsidiary PT. RAPP are shown with orange boundary (including one block in Padang island just off the peninsula); concessions of ten affiliated suppliers who obtained licenses from two jailed bupatis (District heads) are shown with red boundary; an additional concession of an affiliated supplier is shown with a yellow boundary.

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In addition to Kampar, APRIL since 2009 has sourced large volumes of MTH from deep peat forests in Kerumutan and from coastal islands in Riau’s Meranti District, which had been safe from deforestation by the paper industry until then (Map 1).

The licenses based on which APRIL’s wood suppliers deforested deep peat lands in Kampar, Kerumutan and Meranti islands appear to be highly questionable due to a series of irregularities:

APRIL knowingly pulped natural forest wood from concessions whose licenses were issued through corrupt practices.

Ten of twelve APRIL wood suppliers in Kampar obtained their licenses in 2002 and 2003 from the heads of Siak and Pelalawan district, the governing authorities of Kampar Peninsula. Both government officials have been convicted in high profile cases on corrupt practices in issuing these licenses and are currently in prison (concessions with red numbers and boundaries on Map 2) 31 . Some of the suppliers also received annual cutting licenses from three Riau Forestry Agency chiefs who since then have been sentenced to prison terms for graft 32, 33 .

Satellite images show that APRIL suppliers PT. Uniseraya and PT. Triomas FDI (9 and 10 in Map 2) deforested their concessions as late as 2012 (Map 3). In the adjacent Kerumutan landscape, five of seven suppliers also received their licenses from the jailed Pelalawan district head and supplied natural forest wood to APRIL. An additional supplier (PT. Mitra Kembang Selaras) received a license from Indragiri Hulu district’s head who was questioned by anti-corruption investigators three years ago on allegations of similar corrupt practices. The company proceeded to clear natural forest in the area as late as 2010 34 .

Map 3. Landsat images between 2006 and 2012 showing natural forest clearance by two affiliated suppliers (9: PT. Uniseraya and 10: Triomas FDI) who obtained licenses from the jailed former Pelalawan bupati, Tengku Azmun Jaafar.

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APRIL’s wood supplier PT. SRL received legally questionable concession license.

Several investigative reports published by Eyes on the Forest suggested PT SRL’s licenses were legally questionable 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 . Yet, despite such irregularities, PT. SRL seems to have finished most of the planned deforestation in its concessions (Map 4).

Map 4. Natural forest clearance by PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL), currently APRIL’s second biggest supplier.

2. Forest clearance in violation of government spatial planning law and within Indonesia’s “deforestation moratorium area”

Based on analysis of WWF-Indonesia forest cover data, peat area/depth data by Wahyunto et al. (2003), Government Regulation 26/2008 on National Spatial Plan, Ministry of Forestry Decree 323/2011, and Landsat images taken between 2009 until 2012 (Map 1, 5), Eyes on the Forest found that APRIL wood suppliers cleared natural forests:

Inside a “National Protection Area” in violation of Government Regulation Number 26 year 2008 on National Spatial Plan i. [Applies to most natural forest i This stipulates that peatlands with a peat depth of 3 meter or more located upstream of river or swamp is to be considered a “National Protected Area.”

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cleared by APRIL suppliers since 2009, including APRIL’s two largest suppliers, PT. SRL (Map 4) and PT. RAPP (Map 6, 7, 8)].

Inside a “moratorium area” declared by Minister of Forestry Decree Number 323/Menhut-II/2011, dated 17 June 2011 on “Determining Indicative Map on Postponement for Granting New License for Forest Utilization, Forest Area Utilization and Conversion of Forest Area and Other Uses”40, 41 . [PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari’s Pulau Rupat concession (Map 4) was clearing natural forest in 2011].

These three concessions are included in the “Big 14”.

Map 5. Between 2009 and 2012, the APRIL wood suppliers shown here cleared natural forest inside “National Protection Areas” declared in Government Regulation Number 26 year 2008. For specifics on area and extent of natural forest clearance in key concessions, see the detailed maps referenced. Three of the concessions highlighted are among the “Big 14” suppliers to APRIL and Asia Pulp & Paper whom the Ministry of Environment is preparing to sue.

Based on information published by Indonesia’s TEMPO magazine, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment plans a civil suit against 14 companies for allegedly causing environmental destruction with 2,067 trillion rupiah (equivalent to US$217 billion on 1 December 2012) loss to the state estimated by Indonesia’s Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force 42, 43 . Six wood suppliers for APRIL are among the 14 companies: three who finished forest clearance by 2009 ii and three who continued clearing natural forest beyond 2009 iii (Map 5).

PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari tried to obtain Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) certification for around 220,000 hectares in Riau and North Sumatra. However, in May 2011,

ii PT. Madukoro, PT. Merbau Pelalawan Lestari and PT. Nusa Prima Manunggal iii PT. Mitra Kembang Selaras, PT. Citra Sumber Sejahtera and PT. Bukit Batabuh Sei Indah

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the auditor (PT. Sarbi International Certification) decided not to grant it because the company did not comply with laws and regulations related to sustainable forest management and social issues 44, 45 . APRIL’s supplier then filed for a reassessment excluding the blocks that did not pass the legality verification. The auditor issued an SVLK certificate for the remaining blocks 46, 47 . Eyes on the Forest thus concludes that APRIL’s pulp production could be tainted by apparent illegal supplies, supplies for which Government of Indonesia's official legality certification system refused to issue a certificate.

Natural forest clearance (pink) started here in 2009. Remainder of concession is almost completely covered by dense peat forest.

Natural forest clearance started here in 2010.

Planned deforestation appears finished.

Map 6. Landsat images until 2012 showing natural forest clearance by PT. RAPP in its Sungai Kampar block. In principle, dark green indicates natural forest, pink indicates exposed soils after deforestation, light green indicates plantations, white indicates clouds.

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No deforestation visible.

Large-scale deforestation visible.

Planned deforestation appears finished. No new events detected on Landsat images until 14 November 2012.

Map 7. Landsat images showing natural forest clearance by PT. RAPP in its Tasik Belat block.

Map 8. Natural forest clearance by PT. RAPP in Padang Island. The company appears to have stopped forest clearance for now, no new deforestation events were detected on satellite images taken after 30 Dec 2011. Severe social conflicts with local residents over APRIL’s deforestation activities on this island have been reported widely in the media (see Chapter 3).

3. Forest clearance causing persisting social conflicts

The clearance of deep peat swamp forests in Riau’s Kampar Peninsula and islands of Riau’s coast (see maps in previous chapters) has generated long-lasting, widely covered social conflicts between local ccommunities and NGOs and APRIL wood suppliers, including corporate flagship PT. RAPP and PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL). The issues have been similar throughout, loss of control over traditionally owned forests and land and degradation of natural resources. Communities and NGOs are also worried about peat subsidence and flooding of crops and sea water intrusion due to company operations 48, 49 .

In Appendix 1, Eyes on the Forest listed many key actions by various communities and NGOs taken since 2009 against the government for issuing the licenses and APRIL’s suppliers for continueing to clearing natural forest and draining peat. A desperate mouth-sewing protest by residents of Pulau Padang in January 2012 (photo 1) managed to stop PT. RAPP from operating in the concession since then. In other concessions, PT. RAPP and PT. SRL have continued operations and communities have continued to protest.

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Photo 1. Residents of Pulau Padang hold mouth-sewing demonstration protesting against PT. RAPP operation in their island, December 2011. Photo by Tribunnews.com 50 .

Photo 2. Teluk Meranti community protests against PT. RAPP’s operations, the yellow banner says “revoke the license of RAPP HTI (pulpwood plantation concession)”. The three photos fron the left are of the APRIL chairman Sukanto Tanoto, President Yudhoyono and MS Kaban, the ex Minister of Forestry who issued the 2009 license 51 .

4. Business model generates vast GHG emissions from continuing peat drainage

In 2009, the Government of Indonesia committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG)

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emissions by 26 and even 41% by 2020 focusing on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests and tropical peatland 52 . In 2010, the Government of Indonesia and Norway signed a Letter of Intent to form a partnership “to contribute to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and peatland conversion” 53, 54 . Indonesia’s REDD+ task force selected Riau, Sumatra - the province with the highest GHG emissions in the country 55 – as one of the candidates to become a REDD+ pilot province under the Indonesia-Norway agreement.

Large-scale peat drainage, natural forest clearance and plantation management on peat cause huge on-going, irreversible CO 2 emissions that eventually lead to the collapse of the whole peat ecosystem and ceasing of all operations, making puplwood production on peat soil unsustainable 56, 57, 58 . WWF-Indonesia estimated that achieving “zero” emissions in Riau’s 1.7 million hectare deep peat Kampar and the adjacent Kerumutan landscapes alone could possibly contribute more than 50% towards Indonesia’s 26% reductions goal 59 .

Yet, APRIL’s corporate wood supply strategy is based on production on peat soil where 69% of its concession areas are located. APRIL’s acceleration of peat soil drainage and peat forest pulping in Kampar and Kerumutan since 2009 (Map 1) has likely led to a steep, long-lasting increase of GHG emissions from the landscape and thus appears like a slap in the face of the President of Indonesia’s global commitment to dramatic emissions reductions.

This business model puts all of the company’s corporate claims of sustainability into very serious question. It is interesting to note that a company with such a principally non-sustainable business model would be chosen as a member of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development 60 .

5. Destruction of High Conservation Value Forests

Since 2005, APRIL has been promising its buyers, investors and the general public that the company will protect High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) after they have been professionally and independently identified following the stakeholder driven HCVF Toolkit for Indonesia61 .

To implement such a promise, APRIL suppliers would have had to commission independent assessments for High Conservation Values (HCV) and conduct multistakeholder consultations for endorsement of the findings and the “forest clearing plans” - prior to building infrastructure, draining peat soils and felling trees 62 . The company did not do this as required.

Instead the company focused on a public relations campaign trying to greenwash their large scale deforestation operations. For example, until the writing of this report, APRIL reported on its web page that it is working with WWF in its HCV assessments 63 . This is not true. WWF has continuously criticized APRIL for its indiscriminate deforestation 64 . When APRIL conducted its own so-called HCVF assessment without any stakeholder consultation in 13 concessions iv in 2006 to justify ongoing deforestation, WWF disputed the company’s delineation of “HCVF” and objected to their clearance of natural forests which WWF believed were HCVFs. But instead of engaging in a multi-stakeholder dialogue, APRIL suppliers continued their forest clearance, even clearing some of the company’s self-identified “HCVF” blocks 65 .

Such practices have continued until today.

iv PT. Bina Daya Bintara, PT. Rimba Mutiara Permai, PT. Mitra Taninusa Sejati, PT. Bukit Raya Pelalawan, PT. Merbau Pelalawan Lestari, PT. Mitra Kembang Selaras, PT. Madukoro, PT. Harapan Jaya, PT. Bukit Batabu Sei Indah, PT. Citra Sumber Sejahtera, PT. Uniseraya and PT. Triomas FDI.

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In order to obtain FSC Controlled Wood certificate, APRIL, in August 2008, had signed a contract with the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood Program (RA/SW) that included a provision to not clear any natural forests for which no professional HCVF assessments had been done or for which the company’s HCVF delineation was disputed by stakeholders 66 . In December 2008, APRIL’s RAPP Forestry Division received interim FSC Controlled Wood certificate for their manufacturing facilities and a portion of their existing fibre plantation. However, in April 2010, the Rainforest Alliance suspended the interim certificate 67 . The decision was based on RA/SW audits in 2009 that found non-conformance of APRIL operations with the FSC Controlled Wood requirements, as well as with other agreed upon terms of the contract 68 . RA/SW gave two deadlines for APRIL to re-initiate FSC Controlled Wood and HCVF auditing activities necessary for a reinstatement of the FSC CW certificate 69 . However, APRIL chose to miss both deadlines.

In its comments on the suspension of the certificate, APRIL admitted two crucial facts: (1) APRIL’s own corporate interpretation of HCVF is not in agreement with that of official FSC assessor RA/SW: “The suspension primarily related to both organisations being unable to agree to a common understanding of definitions of High Conservation Value Forest…” , and (2) APRIL considers the conversion of large stretches of tropical forests as an essential business practice: “This relates to direct or indirect involvement in the significant conversion of forests to plantations, which is an essential step for APRIL Indonesia in our process of establishing renewable plantation fibre supplies ...” 70

Dutch NGO Tropenbos, contracted by APRIL to conduct HCV assessments in Kampar Peninsula, stated at a public consultation in May 2010 that all natural forest in Kampar was HCVF 71 but then continued to recommend that the company can clear much of it. PT. RAPP almost finished clearing its Tasik Belat and Sungai Kampar concessions in Kampar (Map 3, 4) where, according to the Forest Peoples Program, “only a truncated and very preliminary HCV assessment process has been undertaken by Tropenbos the conslusions of which have been disputed by the communities” 72 . Local NGO network Jikalahari and Greenpeace commented on the Tropenbos HCVF report that “this Tropenbos assessment serves to try and legitimize the ongoing conversion of large amounts of forests in Kampar, while setting aside minimal patches of 'HCV'” 73 . It appears that Indonesian civil society feels that Tropenbos has become an APRIL proxy rubberstamping its drainage and deforestation of peatlands.

Most of the natural forest cleared by APRIL’s wood suppliers since 2009 would likely be considered High Conservation Value Forest according to the multistakeholder-endorsed Toolkit 74 : The forests sit on top of government protected deep peat soils and inside “National Protection Areas” (High Conservation Value [HCV] 1.1 and HCV 3 and HCV 4.1) (Map 5). The forests are potential habitat of critically endangered Sumatran tigers (HCV 1.2), and critically endangered and endangered “eco-floristic sectors” (HCV 3)75, 76 ) (Map 9).

Yet, despite publication of the company’s HCVF protection policy in 2005, issuance of interim FSC CW certificates in 2008, loss of the certificate and until the date of this report, PT. RAPP, PT. SRL and other wood suppliers have continued to clear deep peat and other forests without stakeholder endorsed HCV assessments. In fact, 2009, the year in which APRIL had committed to become MTH-free, appears to have been the beginning of an all-out assault on Sumatra’s most precious peat forests and with it the global climate. What remains are the old statements left for display on the corporate web page and the archives of the Internet, continuing to try and greenwash APRIL’s operations.

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Map 9. Impact of peat drainage and deforestation by APRIL wood suppliers on potential habitat of the critically endangered Sumatran tiger and elephant, and on critically endangered and endangered “eco-floristic sectors”.

Photo 3. PT. RAPP Sungai Kampar concession where natural forest was clearcut. A few Ramin trees were left standing though their survival outside their natural forest habitat is questionable. An aerial photo by EoF on 30 May 2012.

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Eyes on the Forest recommendation to APRIL

Eyes on the Forest calls on APRIL/RGE and its wood suppliers to implement the following:

1) APRIL and its wood suppliers will not construct or begin operating or be associated with any pulp manufacturing facility (either new, or with expanded capacity in any way, e.g. through de-bottlenecking) without an independent third party, mutually accepted by APRIL and civil society including Eyes on the Forest, having verified that APRIL has leases and feasible operational plans for the life of the mill for a sustainable plantation-based wood supply grown without having replaced natural forests and opened and drained peatlands. 2) Latest after 1 July 2013, no existing or future mill associated with APRIL will accept a. any type of natural forest fiber harvested on peat soils of any depth; b. any natural forest fiber from high conservation value forests as defined and identified following the multistakeholer endorsed HCV Toolkits of the relevant country, involving all stakeholders including local communities; c. any fiber harvested in violation of any applicable laws, rules and regulations, or d. any fiber from areas for which local and indigenous communities have not given free, prior, and informed consent to APRIL and wood suppliers’ operations; e. in addition, compliance with these commitments will be verified by an independent third party, mutually accepted by APRIL and civil society including Eyes on the Forest. All verification missions can be accompanied by members of civil society including Eyes on the Forest. Until such verification is available, APRIL will not accept any fiber supply from any natural forests. 3) APRIL will give civil society including Eyes on the Forest access to its supplying concessions and mills to monitor and verify either in person or remotely all commitments at any time and without prior notification, including a. wood depots to check, among others, on the presence of natural forest fiber; b. air space to photograph and videotape wood depots, and peat draining and deforestation operations; and c. documents to verify, among others, the origin of shipments. 4) APRIL will establish an escrow account managed by an independent third party, mutually accepted by APRIL and civil societyincluding Eyes on the Forest to pay for all monitoring activities related to its commitments. 5) APRIL will undergo formal procedures to be able to re-aquire the FSC control wood and follow all of the standars required minus the 1994 rule. 6) APRIL will compensate all of the natural forest/HCVF that was cleared after 2009 in violation of its public commitment to be 100% natural forest fiber free. Compensation will be provided by protecting natural forest blocks with similar size in important landscapes not belonging to APRIL and its wood suppliers. Suitable landscapes will be identified by members of civil society including Eyes on the Forest.

Eyes on the Forest recommendation to APRIL buyers and other business partners

Eyes on the Forest warns buyers and other stakeholders to not be trapped by APRIL’s greenwashing campaigns including their so-called transforming peat development concepts.

Until independent, transparent civil society monitored assessments confirm that APRIL has taken the above actions in a satisfactory manner, Eyes on the Forest calls on companies to avoid being associated with the tropical forest and peat destruction of APRIL and their associated business entities.

To help protect Indonesia’s forests, Eyes on the Forest recommends to not support the continuing deforestation by APRIL through purchase of their products or other business relationships. Government officials are in prison today for corrupt practices when issuing

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deforestation licenses to companies associated with APRIL 77 .

END

For further information, please contact: Eyes on the Forest Editor Email: editor(at)eyesontheforest.or.id

Appendix 1. Chronology of social conflicts

• On 20 June 2009, eight days after the controversial 2009 decree was issued for PT. RAPP, the Teluk Meranti and Teluk Binjai villages sent a letter to the compay saying they reject the company’s operation in Kampar 78 .

• On 27 October 2009, local and national NGOs released a joint statement rejecting PT. RAPP’s forest clearance in Kampar as being against communities’ land rights to manage their ancestors’ lands and forests 79, 80 .

• On 22 December 2009, Walhi Riau published an investigative report on PT. SRL’s forest clearance in Pulau Rangsang and strong protests by people from 13 local villages 81 .

• In July 2010, 14 NGOs filed a law suit against the Minister of Forestry related to the license granted to PT. RAPP in Kampar Peninsula at the Pelalawan District Court 82 .

• In August 2010, Teluk Meranti village filed a petition with the local District government and Legislative Council to stop natural forest clearance and revoke the APRIL supplier’s license. At least 150 residents of Teluk Meranti village along with NGO representatives protested PT. RAPP’s operations at the Pelalawan District Office and Local Legislative Council compound.83

• At the same time 429 residents of Teluk Meranti sent a formal petition to the company, officially rejecting an agreement the company had with a so-called “community representative forum”, arguing they had not been involved in any decision making, and that the agreement harmed the community and eliminated the villagers’ rights over the ownership of the Kampar forest.84

• In February 2011, an NGO coalition called “Anti-Forest-Destruction coalition” of Riau called the Indonesian government to stop natural forest clearance operation by revoking all licenses issued to APRIL wood suppliers including PT. RAPP and PT. SRL 85 .

• In August 2011, Australia’s ABC News reported on social conflicts in regard to PT. RAPP’s operations in Kampar and Pulau Padang.86

• On 26 October 2011, the Teluk Meranti community, represented by Riau Legal Aid Office (Kantor Bantuan Hukum /KBH) and Pekanbaru Legal Aid (LBH), filed a citizen lawsuit at Pelalawan District Court against the Minister of Forestry, the Pelalawan District Head and PT. RAPP 87 .

• In November 2011, citizens of Rupat island burned several pieces of heavy equipment and workers camps in protest of forest clearing operations by PT.SRL on the island 88 .

• In November 2011, residents of Pulau Padang flocked to a local parliament compound in Pekanbaru to urge the Riau Legislative Council (DPRD) to help halt the operation of PT. RAPP in the island for land dispute and environmental concerns 89 .

16 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

• In January 2012, after weeks of protest in Jakarta by citizens of Pulau Padang who sewed their mouths shut in protest of PT. RAPP’s operations on the customery land of their island, they convinced the Ministry of Forestry to temporarily suspended the logging operations by PT. RPAP in the island. form a mediation team to look into the case 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 . Civil society organizations in Riau province launched a joint statement calling on the Indonesian Government to review the ministerial decree SK 327 year 2009 which is the basis for PT. RAPP’s Pulau Padang concession, covering 37% of the island’s surface (110,000 hectares)97, 98 .

• In March 2012, civil society groups in Riau Province condemned violence shown by PT. RAPP which violently dispersed the Gunung Sahilan community’s land dispute protest on 6 March by hitting motorbikes and assaulting the locals 99 .

• In March 2012, Teluk Meranti villagers taped their mouths with black duct tape in front of District Court of Pelalawan during a hearing of the case 100 .

• In March 2012, EoF and local media found PT. SRL to have logged Ramin trees and still clearing the forest amid conflicts with the community and while mediators called on the company to stop any activities while efforts were underway to settle the dispute. 101

• In April, 2012, Zainuri Hasyim of the Independent Forestry Monitoring Network’s (JPIK) Riau Chapter said that PT. SRL breached the rules and guidelines for managing their concession. Based on the finding, the certificate of sustainable production forest management (PK-PHPL) obtained by PT SRL in 2011 could be revoked by the Ministry of Forestry which should take stern measures against the company. 102

• In May 2012, Teluk Binjai residents who previously had reached an agreement with PT. RAPP began protests against the company stating the company had broken its promise to provide 6,000 hectares of “plantation of living crops”.103

• In June 2012, Jikalahari denounced the Pelalawan District Head for ignoring a community’s proposal to manage a communal forest in Kampar Peninsula and criticized his support for APRIL’s “greenwashing” project of an “Ecosystem Restoration” project.104

• On 29 June 2012, a coalition called “Koalisi Pendukung Perjuangan Rakyat Kepulauan Meranti (coalition to support Meranti Islands District people's cause)” urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to settle forestry conflicts in Pulau Padang to prevent further extreme actions by the residents. The coalition called on the President to suspend PT. RAPP's permit for operating on the island. Coalition members included Walhi Riau, Serikat Tani Rakyat, PRD Riau, Jaringan Masyarakat Gambut Riau, Jikalahari, Greenpeace, Kabut, TII Riau, Scale Up, Rumah Pohon). 105

• In July 2012, the Pulau Padang community submitted a letter to the President of Indonesia urging him to stop PT. RAPP’s operation 106 .

• At of end of September 2012, a fact finding team set up by President SBY’s advisory board visited Pulau Padang and hinted that irregularities in licensing had been found 107, 108 .

17 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

References

1 http://www.aprilasia.com/

2 http://www.rgei.com/ and http://www.sukantotanoto.net/index.php

3 ABC News (2 August 2011) Foreign Correspondent – Paper/Tiger. See the interview of David Kerr, Director of Operations, APRIL, in the documentary published at http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/foreigncorrespondent/video/201108/r808267_7190363.flv. Transcript available at http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3283804.htm

4 APRIL website, “Operations”. Checked on 4 September 2012 http://www.aprilasia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=33&Itemid=5 9

5 http://www.paperone.com/

6 Friends of the Earth (February 2002) Paper tiger, hidden dragons 2: APRIL fools. http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/april_fools.pdf

7 Greenpeace (13 November 2009) Paper giant pulls out of Indonesia rainforest destruction. Signal to world leadesr to end global deforestation. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/paper-giant-pulls-out-of-indon/

8 ABC News (2 August 2011)

9 Nine News (4 August 2011) Fuji Xerox cuts ties with logging company. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8281546/fuji-xerox-cuts-ties-with-logging-company

10 See reports published at: http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id , http://www.greenpeace.org ,

11 APRIL (2005) 2004 Sustainability Report. Moving Forward. http://www.aprilasia.com/pdfs/sreport_yr2004.pdf

12 Eyes on the Forest (8 July 2010) Business as Usual in Riau, Sumatra: Pulp Industry Continues Clearance of Natural Forest. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF_Report_July2010_pulp_industry_continues_clearance%20B. pdf

13 Eyes on the Forest (30 November 2010) EoF calls on SMG/APP and APRIL to keep their promises: Stop conversion of natural forest and drainage of peat to produce pulp, stop violation of the country’s climate commitments. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF%20%2830Nov10%29%20Riau%20RKT%202010%20natur al%20forest%20and%20peat%20conversion%20EN%20FINAL.pdf

14 WWF Indonesia (5 December 2010) WWF Position on APRIL. http://www.wwf.or.id/en/?21280/WWF-position-on-APRIL

15 Eyes on the Forest (8 July 2010)

16 Eyes on the Forest (30 November 2010)

17 IWGFF (2012) Can expansion of the pulp and paper industries in Indonesia be achieved sustainably? 18 For the latest example, see: RISI (19 October 2012) APRIL disputes RAN’s statement on its relations with Disney, invites Disney reps to review its forest management practices. http://www.risiinfo.com/technologyarchives/environment/APRIL-invites-Disneys-representatives-to-revie w-first-hand-sustainable-forest-management-practices.html

19 Merdeka.com (12 June 2012) Petani jahit mulut sendiri dengan jarum kain. http://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/petani-jahit-mulut-sendiri-dengan-jarum-kain.html

20 Ministry of Forestry (2009) Data Perusahaan IUPHKK-HTI Tahun 2009. http://www.dephut.go.id/files/IUPHHK_HT_2009.pdf 21 Intervention by H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono President of the Republic of Indonesia on Climate

18 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

Change, speech at the G-20 Leaders Summit, 25 September 2009, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. http://forestclimatecenter.org/files/2009-09-25%20Intervention%20by%20President%20SBY%20on%20 Climate%20Change%20at%20the%20G-20%20Leaders%20Summit.pdf 22 WWF Indonesia (2010) Sumatra’s Forests, their Wildlife nd the Climate. Windows in Time: 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2009. http://awsassets.wwf.or.id/downloads/wwf_indonesia__2010__sumatran_forests_wildlife_climate_report_ for_dkn___bappenas.pdf

23 Sanderson, E., J. Forrest, C. Loucks, J. Ginsberg, E. Dinerstein, J. Seidensticker, P. Leimgruber, M. Songer, A. Heydlauff, T. O’Brien, G. Bryja, S. Klenzendorf and E. Wikramanayake. 2006. Setting Priorities for the Conservation and Recovery of Wild Tigers: 2005-2015. The Technical Assessment. WCS, WWF, Smithsonian, and NFWF-STF, New York – Washington, D.C. http://www.worldwildlife.org/tigers/pubs/TCL-technical.pdf

24 Zieren, M., Wim Giesen, Yus Rusila Noor and Marcel J. Silvius. 1994. Proposed Wetland Conservation Areas: New & Extensions of Existing Reserves. AWB-Indonesia/PHPA. Bogor.

25 BirdLife Indonesia (2003). Daerah Penting bagi Burung Sumatera. BirdLife Indonesia, Bogor.

26 Jikalahari & Jonotoro (2005) Summary of the findings. Survey of Forest Quality, Flora & Fauna, and Peat Soils in Kampar Peninsula and Padang Island Forest Areas, Riau, Sumatra. http://www.maanystavat.fi/april/expansion/Jikalahari_summary.pdf

27 Eyes on the Forest (11 December 2007) Local govts, Jikalahari agree to conserve Kampar peat forest. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=152

28 Jikalahari (20 December 2005) Usulan Taman Nasional Semenanjung Kampar http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/Jikalahari%2020Dec2005%20Usulan%20Taman%20Nasional%2 0Semenanjung%20Kampar.pdf

29 WWF (14 February 2006) Expansion of Kuala Kampar Conservation Areas - 14 Feb 2006 http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/WWF_14Feb2006_Expansion_of_Kuala_Kampar_Conservation_A reas_20121012101014.pdf

30 Eyes on the Forest (27 May 2005) News: APRIL’s New Road Threatens Natural Forest in Kampar Peninsula. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=11

31 Anti Forest-Mafia Coalition of NGOs (4 May 2012) APP, APRIL and Corruption – Buyers Beware! http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/KLAKH%20(04May12)%20Factsheet%20APP%20APRIL%20and %20Corruption_FINAL_20120525080524.pdf

32 Anti Forest-Mafia Coalition of NGOs (4 May 2012)

33 Eyes on the Forest (25 October 2012) Ex forestry service imprisoned to 2.5 year for graft case. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=582

34 Anti Forest-Mafia Coalition of NGOs (4 May 2012)

35 Eyes on the Forest (22 December 2009) WALHI releases Investigative Report on APRIL forest clearing http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=258

36 Eyes on the Forest (August 2009) Legally Questionable Forest Clearing by APRIL, Threatens Peat Swamp Forest of Kerumutan, Critical for Sumatran Tigers, Local People and the Global Climate. http://eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF_Investigative_Report%20May_June2009_FINAL.pdf

37 Eyes on the Forest (28 November 2011) PT. Sumatera Riang Lestari, a timber company affiliated to APRIL, clearcut natural forest in small island Pulau Rupat Riau Province, in 2011 amid conflict with community. http://eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF_Investigative_Report_%28Nov2011%29_PT_SRL_Blok_Rupat_AP RILgroup.pdf

38 Eyes on the Forest (Feb 2011) PT Sumatera Riang Lestari, affiliated company to APRIL, clear-cuts natural forests in Rupat Island, eliminates endangered Ramin habitat, threatens indigenous Suku Akit and degrades peat ecosystem in the small island.

19 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

http://eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF_Inv_Report_PT_SRL_Feb2011_eng_FINAL.pdf

39 Eyes on the Forest (11 October 2012) APRIL supplier’s environmental document could be fake: official. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=571

40 Ministry of Forestry (17 June 2011) Keputusan Menteri Kehutanan Republik Indonesia Nomor: SK/323/Menhut-II/2011 tentang Penetapan Peta Indikatif Penundaan Pemberian Izin Baru Pemanfaatan Hutan, Penggunaan Kawasan Hutan dan Perumbahan Peruntukan Kawasan Hutan dan Areal Penggunaan Lain. http://appgis.dephut.go.id/appgis/moratorium/SK_323_MENHUT.pdf

41 Ministry of Forestry Indeks Peta Indikatif Penundaan Izin. http://appgis.dephut.go.id/appgis/petamoratorium.html , for this particular area see http://appgis.dephut.go.id/appgis/moratorium/SUMA-0817.jpg and http://appgis.dephut.go.id/appgis/moratorium/SUMA-0916.jpg

42 TEMPO Magazine (22 April 2012) Going After The Big 14.

43 Eyes on the Forest (25 April 2012) Ministry to sue 14 timber companies by civil case www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=538

44 PT. Sarbi International Certification (12 May 2011) Pengumuman Hasil Pelaksanaan Audit Penilainan Kinerja Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi Lestari (PHPL). http://ebookbrowse.com/pt-sumatera-rl-sarbi-pdf-d152745911

45 Walhi (31 May 2011) PT.Sumatera Riang Lestari Terbukti Melakukan Praktek Buruk Dalam Operasi HTI-Nya. http://www.walhi.or.id/id/ruang-media/siaran-pers/915-pt-sumatera-riang-lestari-terbukti-melakukan-pr aktek-buruk-dalam-operasi-hti-nya-.html

46 PT. Sarbi International Certification (13 June 2011) Pengumuman Hasil Pelaksanaan Audit Penilaian Kinerja Pengelolaan Hutan Produksi Lestari (PHPL). http://www.dephut.go.id/files/HasilAuditPHPLSumateraRiangLestari_062011.pdf

47 Hasyim, Z. & H. Setiawan (2011) Pengalaman Pemantauan Sertifikasi PK-PHPL dalam Skema SVLK untuk PT Sumatera Riang Lestari di Provinsi Riau. http://www.slideshare.net/ZainuriHasyim/pengalaman-pemantauan-pt-srl-riau-final

48 Riau Terkini (22 December 2009) Investigasi WALHI, Kegiatan PT. SRL Berpotensi Tenggelamkan Pulau Rangsang. http://www.riauterkini.com/lingkungan.php?arr=27262 49 Personal communications. 50 Tribunnews.com (9 January 2012) Menhut Harus Tanggungjawab Atasi Sengketa Lahan Pulau Padang. http://www.tribunnews.com/2012/01/09/menhut-harus-tanggungjawab-atasi-sengketa-lahan-pulau-pad ang 51 Riautrust.com (5 January 2012) Bupati Serahkan SK Penghentian Operasional RAPP. http://riautrust.com/read-966--bupati-serahkan-sk-penghentian-operasional-rapp.html 52 Intervention by H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono President of the Republic of Indonesia on Climate Change, speech at the G-20 Leaders Summit, 25 September 2009, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. http://forestclimatecenter.org/files/2009-09-25%20Intervention%20by%20President%20SBY%20on%20 Climate%20Change%20at%20the%20G-20%20Leaders%20Summit.pdf

53 Office of the Prime Minister, Norway (26 May 2010) Norway and Indonesia in partnership to reduce emissions from deforestation. http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/smk/press-center/Press-releases/2010/Norway-and-Indonesia-in-part nership-to-reduce-emissions-from-deforestation.html?id=605709

54 Letter of Intent between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on “Cooperation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.” http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/SMK/Vedlegg/2010/Indonesia_avtale.pdf

55 WWF Indonesia (2008)

20 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

56 Rieley, J.O. & S.E. Page (2008) Carbon Budgets under Different Land Uses on Tropical Peatland. Included in: Rieley, J.O., Banks, C.J. and Page, S.E. (2008) Future of Tropical Peatlands in Southeat Asia as Carbon Pools and Sinks. Papers Presented at the Special Session on Tropical Peatlands at the 13th International Peat Congress, Tullamore, Ireland, 10th June 2008, CARBOPEAT Partnership, International Peat Society and University of Leicester, United Kingdom. http://www.geog.le.ac.uk/carbopeat/media/pdf/tullamorepapers/ipc_tropical_peat_special_session.pdf

57 Hooijer, A., Page, S., Jauhiainen, J., Lee, W.A., Lu, X.X., Idris, A., and Anshari, G.: Subsidence and carbon loss in drained tropical peatlands, Biogeosciences, 9, 1053-1071, doi:10.5194/bg-9-1053-2012, 2012. http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/1053/2012/bg-9-1053-2012.html

58 Jauhiainen, J., Hooijer, A. & S.E. Page (2012) Carbon dioxide emissions from an Acacia plantation on peatland in Sumatra, Indonesia. Biogeosciences, 9, 617-630. doi:10.5194/bg-9-617-2012, 2012. http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/617/2012/bg-9-617-2012.html 59 WWF Indonesia (2010)

60 World Business Council for Suatainable Development Members. http://www.wbcsd.org/about/members.aspx

61 APRIL’s “Fact Sheet (November 2007)” states: “From 2005, APRIL has publicly adopted a High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) commitment through its Environmental, Social, Health and Safety (ESHS) Policy and Code of Best Practice (CoBP). This requires the Company to “conduct third party auditable High Conservation Value (HCV) assessment before development in all new concessions, in order to manage High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF).”

62 The concept of HCVF was first developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 1999 as their "Principle 9: Maintenance of High Conservation Value Forests" to ensure that the High Conservation Values are protected, FSC Principle 9 states that: "Management activities in high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the context of precautionary approach." In practice, this means that no forests should be cleared without any prior assessment of High Conservation Values in the forest and its surrounding landscape combined with the identification of the measures needed to maintain and enhance those values.

63 APRIL’s “Fact Sheet (November 2007)” states: “ APRIL conducts HCV assessment using the Indonesian HCVF Toolkit, developed by Rainforest Alliance and ProForest in 2003, and based on the 1999 Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) concept. The HCV assessments are then peer-reviewed by internationally recognized institutions such as ProForest UK and WWF Indonesia which also conduct their separate HCV assessment within the concessions of APRIL or its partners.”

64 For example, see WWF Indonesia (5 December 2010) and many reports posted at http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id

65 As an example, HCVF clearance by PT. Mitra Kembang Selaras in Kerumutan was reported by EoF (July 2010)

66 Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Program letter to APRIL, dated 15 August 2008. Available from Rainforest Alliance upon request, please contact Richard Z. Donovan, Vice President of Forestry at [email protected].

67 Rainforest Action Network (15 April 2010) Indonesian Paper giant APRIL’s Certification Status Suspended. http://ran.org/indonesian-paper-giant-april%E2%80%99s-certification-status-suspended

68 WWF-Indonesia (5 December 2010)

69 In RA letter dated 6 April 2010, RA/SW gave two deadlines for APRIL to re-initiate Controlled Wood and HCVF auditing activities: (1) “APRIL must, within 10 days from the date of this letter including secondary or degraded forest in peat forest areas, and demonstrate to RA/SW auditors that this commitment is being met, based on field observations and interactions with other stakeholders ” (16 April 2010) (2) “APRIL demonstrates that is has met the 10 Major CARs included in our most recent auditing report and within 90 days from the date of this letter” (4 July 2010) For further information, please contact Richard Z. Donovan, Vice President of Forestry At: [email protected] .

21 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

70 APRIL (2011) 2010 Sustainability Report. Building a Sustainable Future. http://www.aprilasia.com/images/pdfs/APRIL%20SR.pdf

71 Tropenbos HCV Full Assessment of the Kampar Peninsula BICC-6 May 2010. Public consultation, 6 May 2010.

72 Open letter from Forest Peoples Programme and Scale Up to APRIL, 20 th May 2010. http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/publication/2010/05/indonesiaaprilfpplettermay10eng.pdf

73 Jikalahari and Greenpeace (6 May 2010) Open Letter to APRIL. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=279

74 Consortium to Revise the HCV Toolkit for Indonesia (June 2008) Toolkit for Identification of High Conservation Values in Indonesia. http://www.hcvnetwork.org/resources/national-hcv-interpretations/HCV%20Toolkit%20for%20Indonesia- Engversion-final.pdf

75 WWF Indonesia (2010)

76 Eyes on the Forest-Google Earth Sumatra Database (http://maps.eyesontheforest.or.id/ )

77 Anti Forest-Mafia Coalition of NGOs (4 May 2012)

78 Made Ali (18 March 2012) Gugatan Citizen Law Suit Warga Teluk Meranti. http://madealikade.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/gugatan-citizen-law-suit-warga-teluk-meranti-pelalawan/ 79 Riau Terkini (27 October 2009) Pengelolaan Kawasan Hutan, Kelangan LSM Riau Dukung Masyarakat Teluk Meranti. http://www.riauterkini.com/politik.php?arr=26537

80 Eyes on the Forest (28 October 2009) Environmentalists back up Kampar Peninsula community. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=246

81 WALHI Riau (22 December 2009) WALHI releases Investigative Report on APRIL forest clearing. http://eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=258

82 Kompas (26 July 2010) Soal Kampar, 14 LSM Somasi Menteri Kehutanan. http://cetak.kompas.com/read/2010/07/26/04420768/soal.kampar.14.lsm.somasi.menteri.kehutanan http://scaleup.or.id/pub-koran-260710.html 83 Eyes on the Forest (25 August 2010) Community urge logging moratorium in Kampar Peninsula. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=296

84 Eyes on the Forest (25 August 2010)

85 Walhi (1 February 2011) Cabut Izin HTI PT.RAPP, Selamatkan Hutan Gambut Riau. http://www.walhi.or.id/v2.0/id/ruang-media/pernyataan-sikap/268-cabut-izin-hti-pt-rapp-selamatkan-hut an-gambut-riau.html 86 ABC News (2 August 2011) Foreign Correspondent – Paper/Tiger. http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2011/s3283804.htm

87 http://riaucorruptiontrial.wordpress.com/category/semenanjung-kampar/

88 Eyes on the Forest (November 2011) PT Sumatera Riang Lestari, a timber company affiliated to APRIL, clearcut natural forest in small island Pulau Rupat, Riau Province, in 2011 amid conflict with community. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/attach/EoF_Investigative_Report_%28Nov2011%29_PT_SRL_Blok_Rup at_APRILgroup.pdf

89 Eyes on the Forest (16 Nov 2011) Pulau Padang residents lodge complaint on APRIL's PT RAPP. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=500 90 Tribunnews (20 December 2011) Tim Medis Aksi Jahit Mulut: Obatnya Cuma Cabut SK Menteri. http://www.tribunnews.com/2011/12/20/tim-medis-aksi-jahit-mulut-obatnya-cuma-cabut-sk-menteri 91 The Jakarta Globe (20 December 2011) Extreme Protest Spreads Against Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/extreme-protest-spreads-against-riau-andalan-pulp-and-paper/4

22 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.

85892 92 The Jakarta Globe (23 December 2011) Starving Sewed-Mouth Protesters Get Medical Care. http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/starving-sewed-mouth-protesters-get-medical-care/486707 93 Eyes on the Forest (6 January 2012) APRIL operation halted in small island, “mediation team” deployed. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=512 94 Mongabay.com (9 January 2012) Extreme mouth-sewing protest in Indonesia leads to logging inquiry. http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0109-hance_protests_rapp_inquiry.html#

95 Greenomics (4 January 2012) APRIL must refrain from pulping peatland forest on a small Indonesian island. http://www.greenomics.org/docs/Report_201201_Feedback_to_April_response.pdf

96 Greenomics (16 January 2012) Greenomics Indonesia’s Feedback to the APRIL Response of 13 January 2012. http://www.greenomics.org/docs/Report_201201_Feedback_to_April_response.pdf

97 Eyes on the Forest (19 January 2012) Controversial SK 327 permit should be revised, civil groups say. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=513 98 Jikalahari (7 January 2012) Pernyataan Bersama ORNOP Riau tentang Kasus Pulau Padang http://www.jikalahari.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=170%3Apernyataan-bersam a-ornop-tentang-kasus-pulau-padang&catid=39%3Ajikalahari-news&Itemid=134&lang=id 99 Eyes on the Forest (16 Mar 2012) NGOs blast APRIL for violence. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=523 100 Rumahpohon.org, Disappointment and courage of Teluk Meranti People, March 25, 2012. http://rumahpohon.org/#

101 Eyes on the Forest (5 April 2012) APRIL supplier PT SRL still fells Ramin in Rupat Island. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=532 102 Eyes on the Forest (5 Apr 2012) 103 Gurindam12.com (16 Mei 2012) Ratusan Massa Kembali Tagih Janji RAPP, http://www.gurindam12.com/2012/05/ratusan-massa-kembali-tagih-janji-rapp.html

104 Eyes on the Forest (25 June 2012) Jikalahari denounces District Head for preference on village forest. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/index.php?page=news&action=view&id=557 105 Jikalahari (1 July 2012) Presiden Harus Bertindak Selesaikan Kasus Pulau Padang. http://jikalahari.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=193:presiden-harus-bertindak-sel esaikan-kasus-pulau-padang&catid=38:community&Itemid=133&lang=en 106 Eyes on the Forest (6 July 2012) APRIL concessions protested by communities, one dies at APP site. http://www.eyesontheforest.or.id/?page=news&action=view&id=559

107 katakabar.com (17 September 2012) Utusan Wantimpres: Banyak Pelanggaran di Pulau Padang, http://www.katakabar.com/kabar-lingkungan/kabar-lingkungan/5170-utusan-wantimpres-banyak-pelang garan-di-pulau-padang 108 Riau Terkini (3 September 2012) Pusat Bentuk Tim Monitoring Konflik Pulau Padang. http://www.riauterkini.com/hukum.php?arr=50471

23 | EoF (December 2012) APRIL: Riau, Sumatra’s biggest forest pulper 2009 to 2012.